Santa Fe Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

Santa Fe Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

When you make the difficult decision to put your loved one in a Santa Fe nursing home, you expect that they will be safe, taken care of, and treated with dignity and respect. Sadly, this is not always the case in New Mexico nursing homes. If you suspect your loved one is being mistreated or abused in their Santa Fe nursing home, do not wait to take action. A compassionate Santa Fe nursing home abuse lawyer from our firm is prepared to help you seek justice and protect your family.

Your Santa Fe Nursing Home Abuse Team

At the Branch Law Firm, our experienced attorneys share decades of experience protecting the rights of New Mexico’s elders. We understand how stressful and overwhelming it can be to identify nursing home abuse, which is why we’re dedicated to helping family members pursue justice on their loved one’s behalf. Our team can explain your rights, what warning signs to look for, and what legal options you have to protect your loved one from harm.

Santa Fe Nursing Home Abuse Laws

In 2024, there were over 14,000 long-term elder care facilities across the United States, with 68 of them being in New Mexico. That same year, New Mexico had 5,354 nursing home facility residents.

New Mexico law offers many safeguards for older adults living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities to ensure their rights are not infringed upon. Nursing homes in New Mexico have a legal duty to uphold specific care standards, including proper medical treatment and guaranteed safety, while respecting residents’ rights. If a facility in Santa Fe or anywhere else in New Mexico is found to be in violation of these duties, it may be held legally accountable.

Different Forms of Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Santa Fe

Nursing home abuse or neglect occurs in Santa Fe when a resident in a nursing home is mistreated in a way that puts their mental or physical well-being in danger. Unfortunately, many nursing homes in New Mexico are understaffed, and many workers are overworked and underpaid, in addition to some of them not having the training needed to care for residents. This increases the likelihood of abuse and neglect, both intentionally and unintentionally.

Nursing home abuse in Santa Fe can take on many forms, including:

• Physical Abuse. This involves inflicting physical harm to the resident, such as hitting, pushing, shoving, or physically restraining them.
• Sexual Abuse. Unfortunately, sexual abuse happens in some nursing homes, especially to residents who cannot report it or may not be believed if they do.
• Emotional Abuse. This can include yelling, name-calling, isolation, humiliation, and intimidation.
• Financial Abuse. Financial abuse happens when someone steals or gains access to a resident’s finances when they are not authorized to do so. This can include stealing money or forging checks.
• Neglect. This involves not performing essential duties for residents, like refusing or failing to feed, bathe, or provide medical care to residents.

Awareness of elder abuse in New Mexico is essential, especially if you have a loved one living in a long-term care facility. Elderly tenants in Santa Fe may be incapable or too frightened to report incidents, meaning the burden of reporting abuse often falls on family members. Family members should be on the lookout for red flags such as sudden weight loss, unexplained bruises, poor hygiene, social withdrawal, or unusual bank transactions.

The Difference Between Elder Abuse and Neglect in Santa Fe

New Mexico law defines abuse very broadly to include as many harmful acts as possible. The law defines intentional, knowing, or reckless acts, or failures to act, that cause physical or psychological harm to a resident as abuse. Abuse can include the improper use of restraints along with medical negligence and threats or behavior that threaten safety, as well as any actions taken in contradiction to the physician’s instructions.

Oppositely, the term neglect refers to the serious neglect of duties that nursing home staff members hold. They are legally required to provide necessary medical care or safety measures to protect residents. If they fail to do so, whether intentionally or not, this is a breach of duty and a form of neglect.

For families in Santa Fe, it is important to know that nursing home residents have both state and federal rights, including the right to be free from abuse and neglect. The violation of residents’ rights at these facilities may give them grounds to file a civil claim for injury or harm.

About Branch Law Firm

The Branch Law Firm has provided legal protection to injured individuals across New Mexico for over 40 years. Established in 1966, Turner W. Branch began the firm as a small personal injury practice. We have since expanded into a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ law firm. We have developed a special focus on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, and we apply that same commitment to protecting seniors in nursing home abuse cases in New Mexico.

We deliver our legal services through a distinctive combination of professional knowledge and human understanding. We take the time to understand your situation and the impact it has had on you and your family. We then use that understanding to fight for the justice and compensation you deserve.

Claims that need to be filed in court can often be filed in the First Judicial District Court of Santa Fe County, downtown near the historic plaza. When you hire a nursing home abuse lawyer from our firm, you can trust that you can benefit from our comprehensive knowledge of state and federal law, as well as our insight into local courts and their practices.

Hire a Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer in Santa Fe Today

It’s hard to know when the right time to take action is. You may be concerned about retaliation against your loved one, or you may not know if what you’re seeing is abuse. As a general rule, if you suspect abuse, the better course of action is to get legal advice sooner rather than later. Waiting means more evidence can be lost and more time that your loved one is at risk.

Speaking with an attorney who is qualified to practice in Santa Fe provides a full and accurate picture of your options. Your attorney can let you know if what you’re seeing counts as abuse under Santa Fe nursing home abuse laws, what evidence you’ll need, and what to do next. Contact the Branch Law Firm today to learn more about your legal options for elder abuse in Santa Fe. home abuse lawyer.